Connections Between a Parted Family
by ListeningToTheSilence
Summary: "Nevertheless, she allowed herself to recall the memories she had with him, and that was just enough for sleep to engulf her that night." A haunting family tree, a captain of a ship, Henry, and resurfacing memories. Season 3 AU. Eventual HookedQueen.
1. Spoken and Silenced

**Chapter One**

Spoken and Silenced

* * *

Once everyone boarded the ship and entered the portal, the storm calmed and the ship was able to sail more peacefully across the waters. Now there was only the occasional gust of wind and light rain, but tonight the sky looked like it was going to send down a few heavy showers for everyone on board to experience.

Regina stood alone on deck as she listened to the waves collide gently against the side of the ship, staring at the dark waters below her. She had been through a lot lately, and the effects of that included thinking more and speaking less. Everyone noticed more or less so, but she had only been asked about it a few times by Snow and once by Emma. Both women had approached her awkwardly, quickly asked her about it, and hurried away afterwards. Nobody spoke of it from that point on.

Regina wrapped the jacket around her tighter. A few specific topics had been swimming around her mind lately, and it was impossible to get rid of. She absentmindedly tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear and stared at the darkness surrounding her.

"The Evil Queen, all alone," came the Captain's tantalizing voice.

Regina spun around slowly, startled, and glared at Hook, but turned back around seconds later. She listened to his footsteps approach her in slow, agonizing steps.

"What is the Queen thinking about on this cold, windy night?" asked Hook, taking a place beside her. Regina saw him raise his hook up towards what was left of the moonlight out of the corner of her eye.

"It does not regard you, Captain," she said curtly.

Hook chuckled. "On my ship, everything is and will be of my concern." When he received no reply, he turned to looked at Regina. "So I will ask once more. What has been on this royal's mind?"

Seconds of silence passed before Regina replied. "If the people you love most is not by your side, how would you feel?" She turned to face him.

More silence. "Well," Hook said, obviously taken by surprise, "it'd be as if you were plagued by a curse. The absence of a loved one is the loneliest curse, after all. Right?"

Regina was caught off guard. An answer to that depth was the least expected reaction from him. Her surprise was backed up even further by the fact that he was a pirate–no, a captain. A long silence stretched between them. As Regina wondered what could have triggered such an answer, Hook swept his eyes across the boat a few times, just to quench the awkwardness. On the third sweep, he noticed a dark figure standing next to the stairs leading down to the cabins. "Hey, look, the bastard's here," Hook muttered under his breath, his mood instantly changing.

Regina whipped around to face Hook. "Excuse me?"

Hook didn't seem to hear her. "You can come out now, Dark One," he called out towards the figure.

Regina and Hook could hear Gold chuckle quietly from where they were standing. Gold took a step towards the pair. "If you don't mind, pirate, I'm going to talk to Your Majesty for a moment." Regina and Hook could clearly hear the distaste in his voice.

Hook shot right back at him. "I am the captain of this ship, so I would appreciate it if you show some manners on board my ground."

Gold glared at Hook. He was about to retaliate when Regina interrupted them. "Men," she said coldly, "do you have to play such childish games?"

Both men turned to scowl at Regina, but she turned to speak to Hook before any of them could talk back. "Thank you for your concern about my well-being, Captain, but I think I will be fine now."

Hook took this small chance to send one last glare towards Gold before saying to Regina, "See you in the morning, Your Majesty."

He rudely pushed past Gold as he went by, but Gold only pushed down his anger and took Hook's place beside Regina.

"That pirate is very troublesome," said Gold, sighing. He stared out towards the direction of Neverland. From what Regina could see, he seemed to be deep in thought. "We need to form a plan." He leaned his cane on a crate beside him.

"What are you talking about?"

"We're going to be up against magic in a land filled with magic, and, mind you, dealings are how they do business in Neverland." Gold gave a sidelong glance towards Regina to see if she was getting the gist of what he was saying. "To save Henry, we'll need to sacrifice someone so that-"

"Why sacrifices?" said Regina almost immediately. "There's a lot more solutions to that than sacrificing."

Gold let out a laugh. "What do we have with us? We have nothing of value to them except me and you, and what do we have in common? Magic. If we are to save Henry, one of us will have to go, and I will be willing to sacrifice my life for his safety."

"You're willing to do it?" asked Regina, taken aback.

Gold turned to her. "I've been alive for two hundred years," he said wearily. "My son is gone."

Regina studied Gold silently, making sure he wasn't joking. "Don't be too sure about the dealings," she said after a while. "I'm sure you know that things don't go as we think it should."

If Gold heard, he didn't answer. "We should rest for tomorrow," he said suddenly. He grabbed his cane, and without another word, began walking to the steps that led to their cabins. Regina stared at his back for a moment before doing the same. Both barely exchanged words as they approached their cabins, but said their goodnights with a polite nod. Regina's door closed with a small thud and she sat on her bed, exhausted. She had been thinking far too much today, and her headache didn't make anything better. She massaged her temples in hopes that the pain will subside just a little bit.

After massaging her temples with no success, Regina laid down on her mattress. It wasn't the most comfortable mattress she'd slept on; it was made out of cheap materials, and any sudden movements made it creak under her weight. It would have to do for the night, though.

Regina was still thinking, and she felt guilty for thinking the way she was, but one thought overpowered her fear of where Henry could be and whether he was still alive or not. The man she was thinking about could be dead or alive, but the possibility of his existence was so slim Regina feared to even consider it. He was kidnapped as a child, she knew, and brought to Neverland, so her feelings were a mix of hope, fear, anticipation, and dread. Nevertheless, she allowed herself to recall the memories she had with him, and that was just enough for sleep to engulf her that night.

Even in her sleep, the same memory remained in her dreams. It was of the man that was supposed to protect her. After all, isn't that what brothers are for?

* * *

A/N: Hey guys! This is a rewritten story of A Parted Family, and if you followed the first version of it, you've probably noticed that we changed a lot of things in it. This story is written and edited by Skye–the lead writer in the story–and Café–the idea provider.

Café's ideas fuel this story, so this story wouldn't have been created if it weren't for her wonderful ideas. Skye simply puts it in words on a computer, so yeah.

Please review and tell us what you thought of the story. :)

_-Café and Skye_


	2. Hey! Say Dumb

**Chapter Two**

Hey! Say Dumb

* * *

Henry groggily opened his eyes. The scene around him was unfamiliar but he thought nothing of it, having just woken up. The first thought that came into his mind was 'this is an uncomfortable bed.' He proceeded to stretch but realized he couldn't move. Henry's eyes shot open. The previous day's events suddenly poured into his mind and he began desperately tugging at the ropes, fear evident in his eyes.

"Woah, calm down, buddy," a man's voice said, a smile in his voice.

Henry paused. His eyes travelled around the small, surrounding area around him. Henry quickly deduced that he seemed to be in a tent and he quickly felt the texture of the stake he was tied to and the rope that bound him. It was a wooden stake and rope thick and strong enough so that Henry couldn't escape. He felt a surge of anger and despair, but it was soon mixed with curiosity and fear as his eyes landed on a man much taller and older than him with black wavy hair and gray-blue eyes. The man was sitting casually on a chair, which was the only object in the room apart from what Henry was bound to and with.

"Hello, Henry!" the man said.

"Who are you?" Henry asked, tugging at the ropes once more.

"Someone you can trust." The man seemed to think about this for a moment. "I think."

"You think?" said Henry. He pushed the thought away and scrutinized him. "And how are you so old?"

The man shrugged, peeking out of the tent. Henry could see him tapping his thigh impatiently. "I'm not sure." He looked back towards Henry. "What about you? Why're you here?"

Henry looked back up at the man's face, dumbfounded. "You're the one who captured me! Shouldn't you know?"

The man let his hand fall from to his side. He laughed. "What, me? No, no, I think you're mistaken. I was just ordered to watch over you."

Henry was at a loss for words. He watched in silence as the man peeked out of the tent once again, this time for a while longer. Henry took this as an opportunity to escape and tried to struggle out of the ropes as quietly as possible. He froze when he felt the man let go of the tent entrance again. "Alright, I've got to go," he said, clasping his hands together. He looked at the stake Henry was bound to and sighed. "And I guess I have to take you too."

Henry was bewildered. "Take me where? What?"

He looked around the tent wildly as the man approached him. With a heave and a small grunt, he was able to take the stake out of the ground. "Alright, buddy. You're coming with me."

The man ignored the kicks and protests from the boy and began walking towards the shoreline not too far from where they were. The only thing that made this task difficult for the man were the obstacles that laid between the two and the shore. The route they were taking was definitely not used often, for he struggled to walk straight for ten meters before something was blocking their way. There were a couple of painfully uncomfortable moments where the man had to stick the stake back into the ground while he moved small, fallen logs away from their path. Henry soon became tired of protesting. "Why are you moving logs again?" Henry asked tiredly. He wasn't even the one carrying a boy on a stake.

"Well, you're probably going to be stuck to that stake for a while," the man said between pants, "so I'll probably be using this route for a bit."

Henry, again, was at a loss for words. They hadn't talked much during their hike through the undergrowth–well, the man didn't–yet with the little words the man had said Henry found him oddly peculiar. He seemed so friendly, but he had a mysterious aura around him. Why was he so old? Was he born here?

"Alright," the man said, wiping beads of sweat off his brow. "Let's continue."

He took the stake out of the ground once more and hauled Henry and the stake over his shoulder. He trudged on for five minutes more before breaking out of the greenery. The man quickly stuck the stake down for what seemed like the billionth time where the grass met the sand and told Henry, "I'm going to be gone for around half an hour so try restraining yourself from moving. I don't want to come all the way here just to prop you back up. You understand?"

"What are we doing here?" Henry asked. He seemed to be oblivious to everything the man just told him.

"Hey, I have a social life, and I'm already-" The man paused for a second to turn towards the sun. "-quite late and my girlfriend most probably wouldn't be happy with me."

Henry tried to look past the man's shoulder and caught a glimpse of a silhouetted figure before falling towards his side. Luckily the older being was able to catch him just before he hit the area where the grass met the sand. "Careful," the man warned.

Henry ignored the phrase. "Is that who I think it is?" he said, wide-eyed.

The man ran a hand through his hair and heaved a sigh. "We'll talk about this later, okay? She's gonna get really mad at me."

"But-"

"Henry," the man said with a with a dangerous undertone in his voice.

"But she's Ariel!" Henry said desperately, bouncing in excitement. Or, at least, as much as he could while being bound.

This snagged the man's attention. "How do you know that?"

"Uh…long story," Henry said. Then he realized something. "Wait. If she's Ariel, and you're her boyfriend, then you must be Prince Eric!"

From all the adrenaline now pumping through Henry's veins, his stake fell over again. This time Eric–or possibly Eric–was too awed to catch him. "How did you-?" He stopped himself. "Look, I'm getting really really really late because of you, alright? So-" Eric picked Henry off the ground and began walking to the nearest tree in sight. "-I'm going to tie you to this tree and try not falling, please?" He said this all while busying himself with the rope. Neverland was getting chillier now, and the wind was beginning to pick up. "I'm going to go meet my girlfriend so don't cause trouble when I'm gone."

Henry watched in silence as Eric jogged up to the shore and sighed. He watched as they conversed for a while, but wasn't able to hear anything since they were so far away. His mind soon wondered as to the reason why Eric was in Neverland and how he was growing up. Sadly for Henry, he wasn't able to figure it out. He ended up trying to struggle out of the ropes once again. He tried pulling the rope. It loosened. Hopes rising, Henry began tugging on the rope with new fervor, but he thought too soon.

The rope that was tied to Henry's hand that was tied to the stake that was tied around the tree loosened and Henry began tipping to the side. There was a loud thud. "Oof," Henry said, grimacing in pain. "Um, hey!" he tried calling out. He saw the two silhouettes turn towards him. "Need a little help over here!"

He saw Eric and his girlfriend talking for a moment but then they turned their backs on him. Henry wanted to call again but knew Eric wasn't going to come, whatever he did. He was still bound to the stake and he rested his head on the grass for a moment. That was when a huge gust of wind decided to blow and the grass began tickling his nose. Henry tried loosening the rope for the umpteenth time but the extent of Eric's intelligence was finally realized by the boy. It was an extremely complicated knot. Being in this very irritating situation, Henry tried scrunching his nose up in hopes that it would get rid of the itch. Unfortunately it failed.

* * *

Eric approached Ariel slowly, slightly out of breath. "Hey babe," he said, flashing his girlfriend an apologetic smile.

"What took you so long?" Ariel asked, giving him a quick kiss on the lips.

"Well I kind of have to babysit this little kid now, so I had to carry him all the way here. Sorry," Eric said sheepishly. He sat himself down on a rock just out of the water's reach. Ariel laughed and propped her arms up to the smooth surface of said rock. She began unconsciously tracing the letters that were etched onto the surface. Ariel & Eric.

Eric's girlfriend sighed contently. "So where's the boy?"

A faint voice distracted the two of them. "...Hey! Need a little help over here!"

Eric and Ariel turned their heads towards the origin of the voice just in time to see Henry fall onto the grass. "You just met him," Eric said exhaustedly.

Ariel burst out in laughter. "Oh, poor boy," she said after her laughter died down. "Shouldn't you help him?"

Eric stared at her in disbelief. "I think I've spent enough time with the boy for the day, thank you very much."

Ariel giggled. "How did he fall down?" she asked him.

"Oh, I tied him to a tree." He waved the comment away like it was no big deal.

Ariel frowned. "But your knots are always perfect. For goodness sake, you learnt it from a captain!"

Eric winked at her. "I purposely loosened the ropes," he said in a loud whisper. "He had to learn his lesson."

* * *

The sun had set completely by the time Eric came back to Henry. "Hello, Henry," Eric said, tilting his head sideways but not picking him up. "Had fun?"

"Get me up!" yelled Henry, blinking his eyes when sand blew into them. His eyes watered and Eric laughed when he saw how Henry looked like he was crying.

"Not until you tell me how you know me and my girlfriend."

"Just get me up first!" Henry said again. He tried spitting the sand out of his mouth.

Eric began walking slowly around him like a predator closing in on its prey. "You know, kid, life is filled with many bitter moments, and a little patience…" he trailed off. "And then I don't know the rest." He clasped his hands together. "Anyway! Tell me how you know me and my girlfriend and then I'll carry you back to the tent." Eric pulled a face. "Plus, you're getting a runny nose."

Henry's face went red with embarrassment. "I don't need you to carry me!" he said in defiance.

Eric sat down in front of him, tilting his head to the side. "Comfortable?" he inquired in mock politeness. "You're going to get sick if you don't hurry up and walk with me back to the tent."

Henry's face turned from embarrassment to anger. "How am I supposed to walk!?"

Eric shrugged. "I dunno. You were the one who said you didn't want to be carried."

Henry began getting extremely frustrated by this point. "When my family finds you, they'll kill you!"

Eric pretended to make himself comfortable. "Alright, I have time."

He gave Henry a sidelong glance. "You know, overnight the sand will clog your nose and then you'll suffocate and die." His eyes went wide to exaggerate his little tale.

Eric chuckled at Henry's baffled face. "Alright, enough joking around. I don't want to treat a sick boy, especially his sand covered mucus."

He retied the rope around Henry and the stake and hauled him over his shoulder again. The trek back to the tent was much shorter than the one going to the beach so they arrived back in under five minutes. Eric propped Henry back into the tent.

"I'm hungry," Henry announced after being put back in place.

Eric was slouched in his chair again and he sighed very loudly, just to show how much Henry annoyed him. "Cockroaches or grasshoppers?"

"What?" Henry said, taken aback.

"Just kidding, dude. Chill. Just tell me how you know me and my girlfriend or you don't get any food for tonight."

Henry was about to oppose him once again but gave in when his stomach growled. Plus, he didn't want to starve to death. "Back in my land, there were these stories called fairytales, and-"

"Wait, wait, wait. Hold up a second. Are you dumb? I've seen fairies before but I'm pretty sure they don't have tails. And they aren't stories. They're real creatures."

Henry shot him a glare. "Are you stupid?"

Eric stood up suddenly and pointed at Henry. It looked like something you'd see out of a humorous comic. "Hey! Don't say stupid! Stupid's a baaad wooord. Say dumb."

Henry wanted to put his face in his hands, but was unable to. "Anyway, it started with the Evil Queen…"

* * *

A/N: Woohoo! Second chapter up! We love every single person who has followed and favorited and reviewed our story. We hope you like Eric. Café and I personally love him, and we don't mean it in an egotistical way. Maybe. We made him really cheeky and kind of a jerk because reasons that will be revealed later. We sort of incorporated the faint memories of Eric we had from The Little Mermaid, but all we concluded was that he smiled a lot and ran his hand through his hair and stuff. Plus, he looks kinda strong. So yeah.

Anyway, please review! We really want to know whether you like Eric or not, and what you think of having more of a lighthearted tone to the story. For those who may be thinking 'but this is a HookedQueen story!', don't worry. It'll be an eventual HookedQueen, it's just a little slow at the start.

Before I ramble on any further, I'm just going to say that the next chapter will be set back on the Jolly Roger.

-Skye


	3. The Terrors of a Blade

**Chapter Three**

The Terrors of a Blade

* * *

"Snow, wake up!" Charming said with a quiet urgency, shaking his wife's arm. He had woken up minutes ago with Snow twisting and turning beside him in bed. It took him a few moments to realize something was wrong when the movements ceased to stop. Snow continued to whimper and constantly pulled weakly away from Charming's grasp. Her forehead was beaded with sweat and silent tears trailed down her face. "Wake up!"

Emma burst into the room with her hair disheveled. "What's going on? David?"

"She's not waking up," Charming said, glancing at Emma before returning his focus back on Snow.

"What do you mean she's not waking up?" Emma kneeled down beside the bed and shook her mother gently. "Hey, Mary-Margaret, wake up," she said.

A few calls later Snow still refused to wake. With Charming and Emma's desperation and worry rising higher, their voices also rose. They faintly heard heavy footsteps approach the room, but ignored it and continued to call out to Snow. The door suddenly slammed open with a loud bang! "Bloody hell!" a voice that belonged to Hook exclaimed. "People are still trying to sleep here!"

"Mary-Margaret isn't waking up!" Emma told him quickly, shooting him a glare. "A little assistance will be great, thanks!"

Hook stared at Emma stupidly. "How do you expect me to wake her up? With my hook?" He raised his hook up to show his point. "I'm a pirate, not a therapist!"

"Wake Regina up, then! She might have a way to help her!" Charming suggested, trying to keep his voice down.

Hook narrowed his eyes at Charming and was about to insult him before he thought better of it. He grumbled profanities under his breath as he walked to the other end of the hallway and knocked on Regina's door loudly. "Your Majesty," he said, voice short and sharp. He heard the bed creak, and then there was silence. He waited for Regina to open the door except nothing happened. A smirk graced the captain's lips. "Regina," he said more loudly.

The sound of Charming's voice echoed down the hall. "Don't worry, Snow! We'll figure something out!"

Hook placed his head on Regina's doorframe and sighed loudly. "Lower your voice down, you imbeciles!" the pirate shouted down the hall.

The door suddenly opened and Regina appeared at the doorway. She turned her head around and blinked in surprised when she found Hook's face merely inches away from her own.

"Mornin', your majesty," Hook said with a grin on his face. His head still laid on the doorframe of the queen's room.

For a moment they did nothing but look each other in the eyes, but because she couldn't hold eye contact with the pirate any longer than three seconds, her eyes decided to drift down the pirate's face until it landed on his lips.

Wait a second. What was she doing?

Her eyes shot back up. Unfortunately, Hook noticed, and now a teasing sparkle rested in his eyes. He used his head to push himself up from the doorframe and pivoted with one of his feet before landing back around to face Regina. He now stood towering over her. "The royal princess down the hall is having some difficulty waking up this morning, so the knight in shining armor decided to very politely asked me to come find you so that you could help."

Regina rolled her eyes and walked past the captain a little way ahead before stopping and saying, "Are you going to lead the way or do I have to find the room myself?"

"Sorry Your Majesty," said Hook. "Down this way."

* * *

"Alright, David. What's the problem?" Regina stood in the doorway of the Charming couple's room.

"I-I don't know. She wouldn't wake up! I just woke this morning and she was having these nightmares or something–I don't really know, but Emma and I have tried so many times to wake her up but none of the methods work. I–"

Regina held a hand up to silence Charming. She walked over to the bed and knelt beside the bed, gesturing for Emma to move. Emma hastily moved over next to Hook at the doorway and began working on fixing her hair.

"Wake up, Snow," Regina said. "It's just a dream. It's alright." She gently placed a hand on her arm, but Snow jerked away from her touch. "Shh, Snow, it's alright."

"You're hurting her," Charming said, shooting her a glare. "I asked you to help her, not harm her."

"Then why did you call for me?"

Charming gritted his teeth but said nothing, defeated. Regina gave him a cold smile before turning her attention back to Snow. She watched her writhing in bed for a quick couple of seconds before she came up with another method to wake her. Regina sighed and snuck a glance at Charming and Emma. In all honesty, she was extremely reluctant in acting out this method. Oh well. The quicker the job gets done the faster they could save Henry. Regina sucked in a deep breath. "Snow, dear, your father has requested your presence for morning tea."

It took a few seconds before Snow responded. "But I'm tired, mother," came her childish whine.

Emma slammed her elbow on the doorframe in surprise. "Ow!"

Hook snickered, and Charming told the two to quieten down. Everyone's attention was soon diverted back to Snow, all in awe about her bizarre reply. Charming gestured for Regina to continue, a hopeful look in his eyes.

"Uh…" An idea popped into Regina's mind and she suddenly gave Charming a sly look. "Your father has invited a prince from a different kingdom to come visit you today. You wouldn't want to give him a bad first impression, will you? Prince David is already in the dining hall waiting for you, so wake up." Regina's voice rose with the last few words. She hated the act of being motherly towards Snow, and she was beginning to feel the warm tinge of embarrassment rise up to her cheeks. Fortunately, this seemed to work.

Snow sleepily forced herself to a sitting position and rubbed her eyes. "My hands feel weird."

Her eyes shot open. That was strange. Her voice sounded different, and her hands did too. In fact, her whole body felt off. She felt a lot heavier than she used to, and she couldn't recognize anyone in the room with her except for Regina. That was when an entire barrel of memories crashed down on her. She was having a nightmare just a while ago. "W-what happened?"

Snow raised a hand to her face when a light draft from upstairs blew into the room. Her head felt cold, and her face felt oddly watery. "Was I crying?"

She was suddenly enveloped in a strong pair of arms. "David? Are you alright?"

Regina let out an annoyed sigh and left the room. On the way out, Hook spoke to her with a smirk on his face. "That's a fine set of skills, milady."

Regina didn't reply and began walking back to her room. "Also, if you don't mind," spoke Hook again, jogging up to Regina, "could we talk privately in my bedchambers for a second?"

"Privately? Sure. Bedchambers? Not so much." Regina continued to walk briskly.

"Alright, alright," Hook said quickly, "it'll be quick, I promise. I just need to talk to you about something regarding Neverland and show you something."

Regina looked back at him with wariness in her eyes. "Make it quick."

Hook smiled at her. "You overwhelm me with your kindness, Your Majesty."

* * *

"So what is it you wanted me to talk about?" Regina asked, taking a cursory glance around the captain's bedchamber. It wasn't very different from Regina and the Charmings' own rooms, she noticed. The main differences was that the room was a lot bigger than theirs–probably double the size–and the bed was meant for two. The covers were unmade on one side, but the other side seemed untouched.

"Well, first of all, I want you to have this." Hook grabbed Milah's dagger, still in its sheath, from the top of his drawer and handed it to Regina handle first. Regina took it from Hook's hand and held the knife awkwardly in her hand.

"I don't fight with knives," she said bluntly.

Hook chuckled. "This isn't a knife, love. It's just another form of protection."

"That's very thoughtful of you, Captain, but I have–"

"–Magic, I know. But look at what happened after the bastards cuffed you."

Regina narrowed her eyes and looked at Hook pointedly. "Those bastards? Are you sure they were the ones that cuffed me?"

Hook held the glare for just a moment more before glancing away, and cleared his throat out of uneasiness. "Uh, just...keep it with you. Just in case."

Regina turned her gaze down to the sheath of the dagger. On the sheath were detailed engravings of flowers wrapped in curving vines, and the dagger's handle itself replicated the design of its sheath. She studied the blade. It was double-sided and a single, intricate vine ran down the right side of the blade. The same thing was etched into the other side.

In the time that Regina spent studying the blade, Hook edged around her until he was standing behind her. When he reached for her arms, she turned around. "What are you doing?" she asked, danger in her tone.

"Well, you might not know how to deal with a knife, so I thought I could help you perform some of the basic moves." Regina scanned Hook's eyes for any hints of dangerous motives, but found none. Though she was still reluctant, she quietly complied.

Hook slowly brought himself closer towards Regina before wrapping his arms around her and placing his hand on hers. Regina had stiffened when they first made contact, but Hook was making sure he was taking things slowly so that he wouldn't accidentally harm her. The hook was a little problematic, however. He saw Regina eyeing his hook with caution. "Do you want me to remove it?" he asked softly.

The question sent shivers down Regina's spine. It wasn't what he asked that made her uncomfortable. It was the proximity of his body pressed against hers and the voice that had asked so politely that sent the shivers down Regina's spine. She could feel the vibrations from his voice when he spoke and the warmth of his breath on her neck when he waited for her answer. Regina was beginning to feel a little self-conscious.

"No, it's fine," she said, a little too quickly. She absentmindedly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with the hand that wasn't held by Hook.

"If you say so, Your Majesty," Hook said. He tried getting himself more comfortable before beginning the lesson. "The most basic way of holding a knife is the way you're holding it now. But you should move your thumb–" Hook lifted her thumb up and placed it so that it overlapped a part of her forefinger, "–here. This can keep enemies a distance away if a person is coming towards you." He helped Regina perform a basic slash with the knife in that grip. "Now," he said, gently prying Regina's fingers off the handle, "with a little bit of practice–" He grabbed the dagger the same way Regina had, "–you can do this." Hook, with a simple flick of his thumb, turned the dagger upside-down and had the dagger in the same grip as Regina did moments before–except upside-down. He looked up at Regina and grinned. "Impressive?"

Regina smiled but didn't answer the question. "I'll need more than that simple slash you taught me a while ago." She reached for the dagger in Hook's hand, but he raised it high above him before Regina could grab it.

Hook wagged a finger at her with his eyebrows raised. "Not until you tell me whether or not that was impressive."

Regina sighed and put her arms on her hips, but she still smiled. "Don't be so childish, Captain."

"I'm not giving this back to you until you tell me it's impressive."

"Oh, so I have no option of saying it was unimpressive now?"

Hook grinned. "Well, I never said that specifically."

Regina's smile was beginning to disappear. "Alright, alright. Here," Hook said with the smallest of pouts.

Regina snatched the dagger out of the captain's hand and imitated the grip he had held before. Hook watched her and nodded in approval. "There was no need to be so violent. Where is your sense of imagination?"

She glanced at him, but quickly returned her focus at the dagger. "What's the use of imagination when it always ends up an infatuation?"

* * *

Emma stood up and paced back and forth on the deck. "We need a plan to save Henry."

Charming, who was sitting at one of the crates with Snow, watched as his daughter grew more and more frustrated. "We go in, defeat them, and get Henry," Charming said simply.

"Neverland is more complicated than that, dearie," Rumple said. He caught Charming's questioning gaze. "Will you really be able to kill teenagers?" he said to prove his point.

Hook and Regina came up from below deck to where everyone was. Hook overheard the last conversation and chipped in. "Unfortunately, the crocodile is correct. Neverland is a vile place, and when Pan wants something, he'll get it."

"What does he want with Henry?" Emma asked, glancing at Hook and then to Gold for answers.

The question wandered through everyone's mind. In all honesty, they didn't know.

Gold tapped his cane on the floor lightly, receiving everyone's attention. "What if this has nothing to do with Henry?"

* * *

A/N: Hellooo! It's almost been a month since we've updated this story, and we apologize for that. To elaborate, Snow was having such an in-depth nightmare that she couldn't wake up because she still had some remnants of the sleeping curse in her. So if that part confused you, we hope that this clears things up.

As always, review and all that jazz. We (especially Café) would love to hear from you! *hint hint* Reviews make our day.

Also the next chapter will switch back to Eric and Henry's POV again.

-Skye


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